Thursday, August 29, 2019

Sailing Team - First Practice Today

Today is our first practice.  Please be sure to finish up last minute registration items such as paying ASB fee, signing forms, etc.  Below is a list of who is cleared so far and a checklist of registration items. Please meet at the BYC downstairs as soon as you can get there.  We will be talking first so no need to change.  

Also, the swim test has moved up to 6:00pm at Arne Hanna.  Please arrange a ride to Arne Hanna either with a parent or with your carpool.  Bring swim suit and towel for the test.

REGISTRATION CHECKLIST:
1. Register and pay with Whatcom Sailing.  Click here to Register.
2. Complete the school athletic registration online.  This is now being done with a new Final Forms program.   8th graders DO NOT need to do this step.  Home schooled kids DO need to do this.
3. Get cleared with your school.  Go to your school and get cleared with your AD secretary.  8th graders and home schooled kids DO NOT need to do this step.

CLEARED SO FAR:
All registered 8th graders
SQUALICUM: Talia S, Payton K, Solstice, Reid, Nesta
BELLINGHAM: Talia C, Zane, Fischer, Ella, Maya
SEHOME: Max, Sammy, Bailey, Emma P, Emma W, Leah A, Leah F, Dylan, Lauren, Stuart, Annika, Mike, Britton.


Scott Wilson
Director - Whatcom Sailing
360.303.1759 c

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Sailing Pre-Season Meeting Recap

Hello Sailors and Parents,

Below is a recap of the pre-season meeting.

ABOUT
All local high school sailing is organized and managed by Whatcom Sailing.  We focus on racing, not learning how to sail. The high school sailing team is a recognized club sport at each school and we treat it the same as any school sport. Therefore, the expectations are the same regarding attendance at practices and races as any sport. Practices and regattas are required except for those that are indicated as Optional on the schedule. Everyone is expected to work together as team, including helping your peers, traveling together, staying together, and competing together. All three high schools practice and compete together in most regattas. 

Other sailing or sports:  Sometimes kids try to juggle multiple sports or other sailing opportunities while being on the sailing team.  This is not allowed, and understand that if you miss practices or regattas, that will be taken into consideration when deciding things like who races with who, who can go to regattas, etc.  We have to reward those who are committed to the team.

Unlike summer youth circuit racing, all the organization and registration for regattas is done by Whatcom Sailing.  This way the students can focus on school and not have to worry about planning for the next regatta.  

EMAIL
Most all our communication is done via email, so please help us out by responding to emails quickly and make sure we have your current email address (students and parents).

FEES
Cost is $200 per season plus an extra $100 if you are on varsity.  We never want cost to be a reason why someone is not participating so please contact me if you need financial assistance.  We have scholarship money for kids that are on the free or reduced lunch program.

REGISTRATION STEPS
1. Register and pay with Whatcom Sailing.  Click here to Register.
2. Complete the school athletic registration online.  This is now being done with a new Final Forms program.  See attached documents for more information.  8th graders DO NOT need to do this step.  Home schooled kids DO need to do this.
3. Get cleared with your school.  This needs to be done on Monday (8/26) @ 10am.  Go to your school and get cleared with your AD secretary.  8th graders and home schooled kids DO NOT need to do this step.

PRACTICES
Our first practice is this coming Thursday Aug 29th.  For the first practice please meet at the BYC downstairs. We will practice Tues/Thurs 3:45 - 6:30 through October 31. PARENTS - Please help us by scheduling dentist and doctors appointments around our regular practices. Practices are held at Zuanich Park dock. If you need a carpool, please contact us and we will put you in touch with another sailor from your school.

We require all sailors to have a Type III Coastguard approved life jacket, a whistle attached to your life jacket and a wetsuit. There will be days where we will require a wetsuit or you won't be able to sail. We strongly encourage proper gear, such as gloves, booties and no cotton. On our gear page on the website, we suggest places to buy gear and what kind of gear to get. (westcoastsailing.com offers high school students 15% off gear and free shipping, just enter code ISSA) Please ask us or your fellow sailors what gear we recommend if you have any questions.

We would like you to consider buying and wearing a helmet as well.  Especially if you are new to sailing or have had a previous concussion.  Concussions can happen by getting hit in the head by the boom and can be very serious.  Here is more information about sailing concussions: 

8TH GRADERS
Please arrive at practice as soon as possible after school gets out. 8th graders can participate in all regattas as long as there is space.

SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS
We follow the same requirements as the high schools for athletes.  This means that students must attend all classes the day of a practice AND must be passing all classes.  If either of these are failed then you may not practice.  If you miss a class you need to get it excused and cleared with the AD secretary before practice.

REGATTAS
Please see the website for a schedule of all regattas.  www.whatcomsailing.com  

TEXT MESSAGING NOTIFICATIONS
We use a text message notification system for all the sailors. The messaging service is called Remind. To sign up send a text message 
TO: 81010
Message: @sailboats

If you are a high schooler, we would like you to be on an additional list so please send another message
TO:81010
Message: @bhssailing   (if you go to BELLINGHAM)
      or      @shssailing   (if you go to SEHOME)
      or      @sqhssail      (if you go to SQUALICUM)


PARENTS
We are excited to have your sailor on the team, and will be kept very busy organizing practices & regattas, and teaching them how to become awesome racers! So, we will need your help! Regatta travel is usually based on parent drivers. We try to reimburse for gas, and food is usually free for parents or very cheap. Please take a look at the regatta schedule and make note on which regattas you would be able to drive.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email or visit the website for information. I am excited to be starting another season of sailing!

See you on the water!

Scott Wilson
Director - Whatcom Sailing
360.303.1759 c

Friday, August 23, 2019

Sailing Team Registration - IMPORTANT

Here are some important registration reminders, some of which weren't covered at the Pre-Season Meeting:

To completely register for the sailing team you need to do the following:

1. Register and pay with Whatcom Sailing.  Click here to Register.
2. Complete the school athletic registration online.  This is now being done with a new Final Forms program.  See attached documents for more information.  8th graders DO NOT need to do this step.  Home schooled kids DO need to do this.
3. Get cleared with your school.  This needs to be done on Monday @ 10am.  Go to your school and get cleared with your AD secretary.  8th graders and home schooled kids DO NOT need to do this step.

Scott Wilson
Director - Whatcom Sailing
360.303.1759 c

Monday, August 19, 2019

Fall 2019 Pre-Season Meeting

Sailors and Parents,

On Monday, Aug 19th, we will have our High School Sailing Pre-Season meeting, 6pm @ The Bellingham Yacht Club in the downstairs room.  This meeting is for both parents and students who plan to be on the team or are interested in learning more about it.  The team is open to all high schoolers in Whatcom County. 8th graders are also welcome if you have racing experience.  We have many important topics to cover at the meeting including practice and regatta schedules and expectations. It will also be a good meeting to attend for new sailors interested in joining the team, so encourage anyone who might be interested to come.  

Practice and Regatta schedule for the season are posted on the website: http://www.whatcomsailing.com/schedule.html

Practice starts Thursday Aug 29th @ 3:45 at the Bellingham Yacht Club. 

REGISTRATION & TEAM FEES
Both registration and team fees have changed this year.  Team fees are now $200 per season, $400 if you do both fall and spring.  For varsity there is an additional $100 per season fee. As always, we don't want these fees to stop anyone from participating so please let me know if you need financial assistance.

Registration is now online.  CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

ALSO, all high schoolers (not 8th grade) must do the required sports clearance with your school.  This is an online process now at your schools website.  Here are links to each schools athletic registration process:

A sports physical is also required, so get that scheduled ASAP.  

Registration and school clearance is required before you can practice. For a list of everything that is required see the Join Page of our website.  Attached is the sailor packet with more information.

We will go over all this in more detail at the meeting, but feel free to contact me if you have questions!

Scott Wilson
Director - Whatcom Sailing
360.303.1759 c